There Definitely is Something About the Woods
by Cerrone17
Summary: The Baker's Wife decides to ask Rapunzel for a lock of her hair and so they come up with a deal and fair is fair. Rhyming fic.


_Once upon a time in a far of kingdom there lay a small village at the edge of the woods. And in this village lived a childless baker with his wife. _

She had overheard, while not in the habit of overhearing, two princes talking. She hadn't seen a prince before coming to the woods, and now there were two, two princes walking. Two princes walking in the woods, talking about maidens in the woods. _Near the rose thickets_ one prince had said, _what sort of name is Rapunzel_ the other had said. _Hair as yellow as corn_ one prince had said, _disappeared like a fine morning mist_ the other had said. It's dark and soggy and muddy and foggy near the rose thickets. The moss and the trees all chirping with crickets. The branches tug at her dress, at her hair, and all the rest. Brambles and spines and thorns, all for some hair as yellow as corn. An evening fog had rolled swiftly in, shrouding the trees and the woods and her feet. Tripping and falling over bunches of leaves the Baker's Wife ends up on her knees. She stands and brushes the dirt off her dress, -

"-but who would notice dirt on a dress like this?"

She comes to a wall all ruined and broken, she braces herself and a sigh from her throat comes. High above her head a dark tower rises, according to the prince – full of glittering prizes. How terrible it must have been, for a girl so young and fair, to live in a tower high up in the air. No doors or stairs and surrounded by thickets. How terrible it must have been high up in that tower, and the Baker's Wife feels so sorry for her. She feels, guilty, then for what she must do. It seems such a cruel thing to put this girl through. But instead, she decides, of stealing the hair she'd climb up, up the tower, high up in the air. She would just _ask_ Rapunzel for a lock of her hair.

Nervously she skittered around the base of the tower, it would soon be midnight – that terrible hour. And so the Wife clears her throat, to hit the right note, and speaks clearly from the base of the tower –

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me." Nervously she spoke, unsure of herself. She called out to the castle, to the girl on the shelf.

High up above a window swung open, deep in her chest she could hear her heart thumping. So late at night and such a strange request, the Baker's wife was sure she'd be turned away. But earnestly and bright the words came down to her –

"Is that you at this hour, my prince?"

She had to think fast and she had to think quickly, when the words came down to her they had come down so sweetly. So she lowered her voice and spoke rather thickly –

"Yes." The heart in her chest still beat ever more quickly.

And then came down, from high up on the tower, a long plait of hair that smelled faintly of flowers. The Baker's Wife gave it a tug and it seemed to be strong, she wondered how on earth her hair got this long. Smiling sweetly she noted its colour, the long plait of hair that had come from above her, as yellow as corn just as she'd heard. She was sure then and there that she had her girl. With her boot on the wall and her hands on the hair the Wife climbed the tower that was built without stairs.

She climbs in the window and meets the girl's gaze, the girl whose hair is the colour of maize. But Rapunzel looks confused at the woman climbing in – the prince had never looked quite so thin. Surprised and confused and terribly scared she went to ask the woman what was she doing here, but all that came out past her worried stare -

"Y-you're not the prince…"

The Baker's wife, sorry to lie, came out with a wince. She was certainly not the prince. "No, I ah- came here to ask you a favour."

"Where is the prince, the prince my saviour?"

"The prince is fine but I need your help."

"What do you want?" Rapunzel said with a yelp

"I need a lock of your hair."

"Whatever do you need a lock of my hair for? Where is the prince?"

"The prince is fine but I need your hair."

"I think I'd like you to leave, unless you've more to declare?"

"I need your hair to have a child, please, we can trade? My boots – they're suede! I-I can bring you bread, it's homemade!"

"No, no. Now you really must go."

The Baker's Wife won't leave and Rapunzel won't give up her hair, so they come up with a plan to say _fair is fair_. Rapunzel, so lonesome up in her tower, wants to know love and its exquisite power. She hasn't been kissed and she hasn't been loved, she's sat in her tower so high up above. So she asks for a kiss in exchange for her hair, the Wife simply says _we'd make an interesting pair._ But Rapunzel is insistent and won't take any less, and it didn't matter, she says, that we both wear a dress.

"A kiss? For this?"

"Yes, a kiss. A kiss for this."

"You've princes and castles and romance and all, a kiss from me could not - would not - enthral!"

"But you do not know how it is in this castle, away from life and all the hustle and bustle. I'm surrounded by thickets and walls and trees. And _you_ come and go just as you please, out of the woods and away from the trees. Back to the village and back to your street. With doors and stairs and the clamber of feet. And me with no space and no lover's embrace, I dream and dream of that heavenly space. Past all the woods and the walls and the trees, away from the thicket and the thick woodland breeze. I dream of a kiss so perfect and pure, I dream of a kiss that makes me want more, until I'm moaning and groaning like some common wh-…"

"Alright!" The wife interrupted – Rapunzel was sure. "You've made your point, and I agree to your trade. I'll kiss you as best and as good as I know, but afterwards, though, I _will_ have to go."

The decision was made, the two had their trade. A kiss for some hair, and fair was fair. Next to the bed Rapunzel stayed, while the Baker's Wife came out of the shade. Above their heads was a bright cascade, with little white flowers that were hung and arrayed. Unsure of herself and feeling quite nervous, the Wife runs her hands down the front of her dress.

"I haven't kissed a girl before." She says, giggling, her eyes on the floor.

Timidly she walks over to the blonde, whose features are pointed and fine and her eyes are dark and the Wife thinks _they're so very different to mine_. She raises her hands and puts them on the girl's shoulders, who relishes the contact and practically smoulders. The Baker's Wife looks into Rapunzel's eyes and gently smiles, surprised at how good the skin of those bare shoulders feels under her fingers. There's a hint of something in the blonde's eyes, and the Wife's heart beats when she sees that it lingers. Her gaze flickers between her lips and her eyes. It was a pleasure to look over such a glorious prize. The Baker's Wife runs her hands over the girl's shoulders. The Baker's Wife runs her hands over the girl's neck. She's overcome with lust in her eyes and thinks to herself _oh what a prize. _With her work-hardened hands on a soft delicate jaw the Baker's Wife has never felt this before. She leans in slowly, going in for the kiss, never with her husband had she felt such bliss. Her breath comes in trembling and the witch's words she has trouble remembering. When at long last their lips come together the Baker's Wife wants to stay here forever. With her hand on the jaw and their stomachs together she hadn't felt this before, not before and not ever.

A moan slips her lips as she opens her mouth, a moan slips her lips with her heart thundering loud. A hand moves to Rapunzel's waist, which is so small and taught, bathing her tongue in a heavenly taste. The girl is so soft and so warm, so unlike her husband who was weathered and worn. The Wife's breath came in deep and fast as she started to wonder whether she could last. She deepens their kiss and is delighted to hear Rapunzel mewl at her lips. Clutching at the hips, while her mouth slips while she kisses the lips of this blonde girl and sips on the lust crawling in her body, making her breath and heart beat oddly. The noises she hears are the best she's ever heard, and wants more of them in life, swimming in her world. The Wife wraps her arms around the blonde's neck to pull her in close, as close as the tower and its thickets of rose. Her tongue sweeps over Rapunzel's lip and she feels the girl moan into their kiss. It was utter bliss. Like this. Their tongues then meet, betwixt their kiss, and the Baker's Wife is sure she's never tasted anything so sweet. She is completely overcome by the sensations in her mouth and finally knows what love is about. Electric jolts fire all through her body, with Rapunzel at her mouth who is moaning so softly.

The Wife steps back, all giddy and breathless, her kiss with the girl had left her quite weightless. They look at each other with pink swollen lips, unsure if they'll ever feel something like this. The girl has a look that says _I want more_, but the Wife leans back and says –

"I've never been kissed like that before."

"Do you need to leave, are you completely sure?"

With her arms around Rapunzel still, the Baker's wife had never had it so good. She had heard the saying, like all villagers should – there definitely is something about the woods.


End file.
